Fwd: Re: The Beast Article

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Note: forwarded message attached. Huggles!! Open RNY: 08/19/03 Starting Weight: 315 Current: 160 Goal: 135 "Its not how many breaths you take each moment, but how many moments take your breath away"

Diane Duenas wrote:

>JM

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>Could you give me the name of the book you are reading and also email

>me the excerpt you posted. I love it and would like to learn more.

>

>Huggles

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>https://rational.org/catalog/prod.php?cPath=1 this is the webpage and site

that I bought the book from. The book is called Taming your Feast beast. It is

really helping me, like for instance, even though today I made the choice to eat

a piece of chocolate, I am not beating myself up over it. Yes, not the best

choice but one I consciously made, unlike the other 20 things my beast wanted me

to eat in the last few days that I was able to rationally choose NOT to put in

my mouth

>

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This is an excerpt from the book I am reading "

<<Taming Your Feast Beast

by Jack and Lois Trimpey, Co-Founders, Rational Recovery

There is enough information on this sheet for many people to completely

recover from chronic obesity.

With Addictive Voice Recognition Technique® (AVRT), the game of weight

control is rigged heavily in your favor. Regardless of whether

overeating is a disease (most unlikely!), regardless of what genes you

have inherited, and regardless of what earlier problems you may have

had, your food addiction may be understood as a natural function of the

human brain. The sole cause of your overweight is your Addictive Voice.

In effect, you have two separate " brains " within your head. One is

primitive, similar to the brain of a dog or a horse. This we call the

midbrain. It is basically the brain of a beast, and its only purpose is

to survive. The " beast brain " generates survival appetites that drive

the rest of the body toward what it demands, such as oxygen, food, sex,

and fluids. In some people, the midbrain is convinced that starvation is

just around the corner, demanding more food than survival requires. The

body then stores energy in the form of fat for later use to prevent

starvation.

But another brain sits on top of the beast brain, the cerebral cortex.

This " new brain, " or neocortex, allows human beings to be conscious, to

think, to have language, and to solve problems. Your neocortex is " you, "

and you can override any appetite, even for oxygen. (Anyone can stop

breathing until unconscious; starving oneself to death is not

difficult.) In AVRT, you will use your neocortex, your human brain, your

self, to override the appetite for unnecessary food. By taking

independent action, you may avoid " treatment " or diet programs that are

costly or disagreeable, and harmful entanglements with the recovery

group movement.

If you have tried many times to lose weight, but continued to overeat

against your own better judgment, you may think that you are unable to

control your eating behavior. This is an example of the Addictive Voice

(AV), removing your resolve to eat correctly. The Feast Beast, your

desire to eat too much, is ruthless in getting what it wants. It can

" talk " to you, in your own voice. For example, if you wisely decide that

you will eat less and avoid fatty foods, you will soon hear that old,

familiar voice telling you why you should continue eating abundantly

and/or enjoyably. You may imagine a picture of what you want to eat, and

see yourself eating enjoyably to relieve " terrible hunger. " That is your

AV. Though you made a wise decision to eat correctly, your Feast Beast

has enlisted your language and visual centers to seduce you into

overeating. AVRT allows you to override your midbrain, and seize

control. If you compete you will win; beasts by nature are short on

intelligence.

There are two parties to your overeating problem - you and " it, " the

addictive voice. " It, " the addictive voice, is simply any thinking,

imagery, or feeling that supports incorrect eating ever. With your

intelligence, you can easily recognize your Feast Beast's thoughts and

feelings.

The structural model of addiction shows that the Feast Beast has no

direct means to get what it wants. It must appeal to you to get the

amount and kind of food that it " needs. " It cannot speak, it cannot see,

it has no arms or legs, and it has no intelligence of its own. But it

uses your thoughts, sees through your eyes, creates strong feelings, and

persuades you to use your hands, arms, and legs in order to obtain

unnecessary food.

Addiction Diction (sm)

Your Feast Beast's favorite pronoun is " I. " When you hear the thought,

" I want a snack, " you may recapture " I " by adding a " t " to the " I. " Then

you will hear yourself thinking, " It wants a snack. " After you have

recaptured " I, " your Feast Beast will resort to the pronoun, " you, " and

you will hear, " You have been good; you can splurge a little. It won't

really matter much, especially if you exercise. " Sometimes, it may speak

for both parties, you and it, by saying, " We need a little something.

Let's go get some donuts. " Recognizing the Feast Beast's use of pronouns

is part of Addiction Dictionsm, a potent way to tame your Feast Beast.

Once started, AVRT is practically effortless. When you recognize the

primitive origin of the Addictive Voice, it will usually fall silent,

and then return later. It may whine a lot, but you arc in control.

Beasts have feelings, so when you have stopped eating fatty foods for a

few days, and reduced the amount that you consume, you may feel

physically uncomfortable. This is a normal, harmless phase when your

body is adapting. Within a week or two, your appetite will go into the

background and you will have more energy to pursue your real goals in

life. But your Feast Beast will lunge at you and tell you that any

discomfort you feel is a warning that you are harming yourself, and that

you had better eat more, especially " nutritious " (fatty) food. Your

Feast Beast, unable to tolerate hunger, will enlist your ability to

reason, using any warped logic, to find new reasons to eat incorrectly.

For example, it will tell you that you eat for reasons other than the

pleasure of eating, such as anxiety or loneliness, or it will say you

are congenitally defective. When you confront your Feast Beast, it may

generate strong feelings such as anxiety, depression, or anger. When you

recognize those feelings as your Addictive Voice, they will fade.

Instead of struggling one-day-at-a-time toward a weight goal, you may

make a five-word Big Plan to never eat incorrectly, " I will /never/ eat

incorrectly. " To the Feast Beast, a permanent plan for eating correctly

is frightening because it appears to threaten survival. Therefore making

a Big Plan may trigger feelings such as anxiety, sorrow, or anger, and

endless reasons to postpone the decision. Those feelings are not truly

yours, but only those of a frightened animal. Your old enemy is on the

run. Your Feast Beast is just a beast, and it will finally accept you as

its master.

Play Taps For Your Beast

As you vanquish your old enemy, play TAPS for it. There are four axes of

a dietary Big Plan: Time, Amount, Place, and Stuff. Because AVRT is

simple and effective, you may be tempted to make a Big Plan that you

cannot stick to over the long run. TAPS allows a progressive approach,

one axis at a time, until you have the results you want and are

confident of lifetime stability. Some start with just one axis, like

Time, e.g., " I will never eat after 8 PM. " This alone may produce

gratifying results. But if stronger measures are needed, the Place axis

may be added, e.g., " I will also never eat in front of the TV (or in a

motor vehicle, or in my bedroom, etc.)

Without addressing what and how much you eat, you can lose considerable

amounts of weight with discipline on other axes. Some may prefer to

start with Stuff (or Substance), e.g., focusing on one or several

" culprit foods " that trigger bingeing, e.g., " I will never again eat ice

cream (or pizza, spaghetti, candy, pastries, etc.) " Simple, direct, and

very effective. Finally, The Amount one eats may be the key. Never

having seconds, never eating a meat portion larger than a deck of cards,

never allowing different foods to overlap or touch on your plate, and

other amount strategies can have significant effect on weight loss.

Together, TAPS is a way to gradually add to an eating plan that you can

stick to forever.

When you have made your Big Plan, you may feel a great relief. This is

the abstinence commitment effect (ACE), showing that you clearly

understand the concepts of AVRT. A Big Plan changes the way your future

looks, and depression may no longer have a purpose in your life. Stay

alert for new Beast activity, which may be sudden or gradual. It doesn't

give up easily, and it is a strong opponent. When you feel the struggle

within you, it is only your old enemy having a hard time with its new

master ­ you. Knowing this builds great confidence that your food

addiction and overweight condition are over once and for all.>>